6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge – Week 6, NEW November VRD Quilt Patterns, and VRD Rose Card Pattern Storage

November 13, 2025November 12, 2025 rosecards5 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Greetings from snowy northwestern Pennsylvania! We had around 5 inches of lake effect snow (thank you Lake Erie!) dropped on us Monday night. It sure did look beautiful when I got up Tuesday morning. Suddenly I had the urge to listen to Christmas music and binge-watch Hallmark Christmas movies while sipping hot chocolate with scads of marshmallows floating on the top.

So apparently for me, the Christmas holiday season has begun. When do you usually get your Merry on?

It also made me start thinking about what holiday fun I wanted to do on the blog. Still brainstorming right now, in case any of you lovely readers have any holiday ideas you might like to see on the blog.

But for right now, let’s get back to our Challenge!

Our winner for Week 5 is ……………

Barb F.

Congrats, Barb! Keep up the good work!

Now let’s check out my Week 6 finish!

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge – Week 6

For my final Week 6 finish, I chose to complete my blog tutorial sample, Ebb Tide.

A colorful quilt design titled 'Ebb Tide' featuring various patterns in shades of pink, purple, and teal, framed by decorative borders.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

This is one of my absolute favorite patterns for using large prints! The framing really gives large print fabrics room to shine as well as to breathe. It is fat quarter friendly and finishes at a nice 47″ x 61″. To make it larger, simply add an outer border – a 6″ finished border would make the quilt a nice 59″ x 73″.

Here is my Before photo:

A patchwork quilt featuring various floral and patterned fabrics, displayed outside against a backdrop of blooming yellow flowers.

YIKES! In looking for my “before” photo, I discovered the Ebb Tide tutorial was from 2023 – way past time to get it finished, don’t you think?

The fabrics are fall-licious batiks from our friends over at Hoffman.

And here is my After photo:

A quilt with a patchwork design featuring rich burgundy, cream, and floral prints, displayed draped over a chair in a cozy setting.

I considered photographing it out in the snow, but I didn’t want to bundle up in order to go outside so I ended up taking an inside photo.

I quilted Ebb Tide with a copper colored cotton thread in my usual allover meander design. It is backed with a cream fleece that has little stars on it. The binding is a brown stripe batik, which I cut on the bias so my stripes are diagonal. I was a little nervous to finish the binding by machine because the last time I machine-finished a bias binding, the edges ended up rippling.

WHEW! What a relief – this time it finished beautifully with no rippling and the corners actually turned out quite well, too. I think finishing the binding by machine for the last 6 weeks has helped me gain a little more confidence with this technique. This winter, though, I plan to snuggle under quilts, watch movies, and do some hand binding.

I want to thank everyone who signed up and participated in this Challenge. I hope you are as pleased with your accomplishments as I am with mine. Let’s all pat ourselves on the back for a job well done.

We will have one final winner next week.

I’m thinking we’ll do this Challenge again in the New Year. That way, we can keep finishing our UFO’s and flimsies so we don’t feel a little guilty every time we start something new.

Now let’s take a look at the NEW VRD patterns for November. Yay!

NEW November VRD Rose Card Patterns

I LOVE the Thursday after the first Friday of every month because that means – NEW PATTERNS!

Here is the set of 5:

A promotional image showcasing five new quilt patterns for November 2025: Fall Windmills, Markesan, Limited, Nevermore, and Warrenwood, with pricing information.

Get the set of 5 print patterns HERE

Fall Windmills is Sewl Sister’s super fun quilt this month. It finishes at 48″ x 60″. You can find a Fall WIndmills kit on the VRD website featuring the Planetarium collection HERE.

A colorful quilt featuring a geometric pattern with shades of teal, gray, and white, showcasing various block designs in a patchwork layout. — *Fall Windmills in Planetarium*

Limited is Molly’s newest pattern. It uses either 10″ squares or FQs and finishes at 45″ x 59″. You can find kits featuring the same fabrics as the cover quilt HERE.

Markesan is this month’s new mod quilt by Rachelle Handmade. It is Jelly Roll friendly and finishes at a nice 60″ x 70″.

Nevermore is by yours truly and features a 24″ panel along with some coordinates and an accent. It finishes at 47″ x 66″. Anybody get the name reference of the pattern???

Warrenwood is Pat’s 11th Tim Holz Palette design and is fat quarter friendly. It finishes at 45″ x 59″. You can find kits featuring the Tim Holtz Charcoal Palette HERE.

And this month, there’s a NEW Table Runner, too.

A colorful quilt pattern titled 'Family Fun-gi' designed by Tricia Lynn Maloney for Villa Rosa Designs. The design features a crafting theme with blocks and textured fabric elements against a pastel background.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

Family Fun-gi is a cute little mushroom runner with a silly name (I can say that because it’s one of my runners, LOL!). And guess what??? The mushrooms could also be trees if you wanted. The runner finishes at 17″ x 45″ and goes together really fast. You can find a kit featuring the Sienna collection HERE.

A quilted table runner featuring a pattern of three stylized trees with a floral and leaf design in autumn colors against a dark background. — *Family Fun-Gi in Sienna*

One last thing before I go…….

NEW VRD Rose Card Storage Option

Our VRD designer and partner, Running Doe, has created a brand new storage option – a discbound binder for storing your Rose Card patterns. Each binder comes with 40 sleeves to hold 40 patterns. Get yours HERE.

A mint green discbound binder with several clear plastic sleeves, designed for pattern storage.

Want to learn more about Catherine’s binder? Check out her Facebook video HERE.

Don’t forget – just because our Challenge is over doesn’t mean you can’t still finish one UFO each week. I’m going to try.

Take care and just keep quilting!

Sew. Laugh. Finish. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

2025 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Quilting and Books · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge – Week 5 and a Vintage Fabric Surprise

November 6, 2025November 5, 2025 rosecards4 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy November to you! We are now in the thick of the holiday season – are you ready? How many of you are participating in the 6 Quilts in 6 Week Challenge and getting a few handmade gifts completed for holiday giving? I must admit – not me. I’m just trying to make a dent in my VRD UFO quilt stack. I’m just so thrilled that I’ve already completed 5 unfinished projects. Yay me! I just need to keep it going after our lovely Challenge ends next week.

And our lucky Week 4 winner is ………….

Susan T.

Now let’s check out my Week 5 finish!

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks – Week 5

This past week has been a busy one, so for this week, I chose a table runner to complete. I had a fun summer version of Pinwheel Picnic ready and waiting. It was a sample I made for the VRD Table Runner a Month program my Friday Group (Hey Ladies!) did maybe 3 years ago.

Yup – another one bites the dust. Wahoo!

A vibrant quilted table runner called 'Pinwheel Picnic' features colorful triangular patterns in various fabrics, set against a sunny yellow background. The runner showcases a mix of floral and checkered designs, emphasizing a playful summer theme.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE.

Have you ever made Pinwheel Picnic? It’s a fun one that goes together quickly and finishes at 16″ x 48″. It uses 5″ squares, but you could also use your stash! And it’s easy to add extra blocks to make it longer if you wanted.

I used an older fun summery fabric collection with citrus fruit and flowers by designer Sandy Gervais.

My Before Photo –

A completed table runner featuring a pinwheel design in vibrant colors including orange, yellow, green, and floral patterns, hanging against a backdrop of organized fabric shelves.

My After Photo –

A vibrant quilted table runner featuring a pinwheel pattern in colorful fabrics, including orange, green, and yellow, displayed against a backdrop of fabric storage.

I chose to quilt my runner with straight lines in orange thread about 1/2 inch apart. By no means are my lines actually straight, but I think it turned out pretty well. It will look even better once it’s washed and puckered. I stitched the quilting lines with my walking foot. The I used a solid orange for the binding and machine stitched it on with a yellow floral print for the back from my stash.

Here’s a close up of my quilting.

A close-up view of a quilted table runner featuring vibrant summer colors, floral patterns, and citrus motifs, showcasing intricate quilting lines.

It really feels good to have 5 projects completed.

I can’t wait to show you what I found yesterday!

My Vintage Fabric Find

I connected to a quilter and antique quilt collector online who was relocating to Alabama. She had culled her antique textile collection before her move and I am the very lucky adopter of her leftovers. But these leftovers are fantastic! Let me show you what I got.

A laundry basket filled with a colorful assortment of fabric scraps in various patterns and textures, ready for quilting projects.

YIPPEE! When I emptied the plastic bags of goodies – they filled an entire laundry basket. Lynn told me she’d acquired her collection here and there, online and at antique shops, which is pretty much how my own textile museum – er, collection – has grown over the years. LOL!

There were lots of great quilt blocks, both in sets or as orphan blocks.

A collection of various quilt blocks laid out on a gray surface, showcasing different patterns and colors including blue, pink, and yellow fabrics.

A collection of vintage fabric pieces arranged on a surface, featuring alternating blue and yellow stripes with a red square in the center.

A collection of quilt blocks in various shapes and fabrics, including geometric patterns and floral designs, arranged on a fabric surface.

Some of you may know that my quilting roots started in auctions, museums, and antique fabrics long before I’d ever made my first quilt block. Back in 2010, after acquiring a local woman’s scrap bag, quilt blocks, quilts, and tops which spanned more than 100 years, I wrote my first quilt book, Orphan Block Quilts. It’s now out of print, but you can still find it as print copies or as a download.

Book cover titled 'Orphan Block Quilts' featuring a quilt pattern with pastel colors and geometric shapes.

You can find the download HERE.

During the pandemic, I found another love in textile history – feed sacks! So I was thrilled to find lots of feed sack pieces amongst my new textile finds as well as 3 sewn strips of Log Cabin blocks with even more feed sacks! Lucky me! Oh my! What treasures I am finding in my new basket of scraps!

An assortment of vintage fabric pieces featuring various prints and colors, arranged on a light-colored surface.

A collection of vintage fabric scraps featuring various floral and geometric patterns in vibrant colors, laid out on a gray surface.

I really enjoy documenting all the different patterns and designs of the feed sacks I find. I even started putting my examples into books (big surprise, right?). My first volume is available and eventually the second volume will be, too, as soon as I finish it.

Book cover featuring a collection of vintage feed sack designs in various colors and patterns, titled 'Feed Sacks' by Tricia Maloney.

You can find it HERE.

I even used vintage feed sack squares in one of my VRD patterns, too.

A decorative quilted wall hanging titled 'Nana's Aprons' featuring three colorful patchwork aprons on a light blue background with a wooden backdrop.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE.

Who knows? Maybe this new textile stash will inspire a new VRD pattern down the road. We shall see….

Well, that’s it for me today. I need to figure out which project I’ll be completing for next week’s Week 6 (and the last week) of our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. And then, I’m going to play in my new textile collection.

See you right here next week.

Until then –

Sew. Laugh. Finish. Play. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

2025 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Quilting Partners · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge – Week 4

October 30, 2025October 29, 2025 rosecardsLeave a comment

Hello Quilty Friends!

It’s hard to believe it’s Week 4 of our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge already, isn’t it? How many of you have been following our VRD Project Finishers on our VRD Facebook page? I know I have! I really love how supportive everyone is on the VRD FB page, too, it’s a great place to hang out if you’ve never visited before.

I’m really hoping this “finish 1 project a week” concept will stick with me and I’ll continue after the Challenge is over because I literally have STACKS of flimsies (quilt tops) waiting impatiently to get quilted, bound, and finished. I think it would be a great accomplishment for me (or any of you) to shrink those stacks of unfinished projects before the end of the year.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to jump into 2026 with a plethora of new project ideas without the guilt of that sad stack of unfinished projects sitting there, judging us? Besides, finishing projects will make more room in our quilting spaces for new projects!

Okay, how about our Week 3 Challenge winner now (selected using a random number generator)?

Congrats to Robin M!

Prizes for our Weeks 1-3 winners will be in the mail shortly, so enjoy your quilty surprises sponsored by our good friends over at QT Fabrics. Thank you, QT!

Now we’re ready to jump into our Week 4 Challenge!

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge Week 4

My finish this week was a really fun one – Helix by our talented VRD designer, Molly Cook. Have you ever tried this pattern before? Helix is fat quarter friendly and finishes at a nice 50″ x 66″. You could add a border all around to make it larger if you wanted to.

It is definitely a more challenging project – I would consider it more intermediate/advanced. There’s a lot of matching points and seam intersections in this one. The finished quilt is gorgeous, though, with its eye-catching geometry. A very cool quilt.

A quilt design titled 'Helix' by Molly Cook, featuring vibrant patchwork in various shades of blue, green, purple, and brown, set against a patterned background.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

When I searched for this tutorial on the blog, I discovered – gasp! – it was from 2023! Huh. How time flies! You can find the Helix tutorial HERE.

If you’ve never made this one before, I really do suggest you check out the tutorial because all those intersecting points can be a challenge if you’ve never done them before.

Here’s my BEFORE photo:

A completed quilt with geometric patterns in shades of blue and green, displayed outdoors against a backdrop of trees and a cloudy sky.

Apparently when I took the photo back in 2023, it was a really windy day!

And here is my AFTER photo:

A completed quilt featuring geometric patterns in shades of blue, green, and teal, displayed outdoors against a grassy background.

See the interesting plaid markings showing through the quilt (the sun was behind the quilt when I snapped the photo)? That is courtesy of the fun blue/teal plaid fleece on the back. Yep, another fleece-backed throw with no batting – just the way I like ’em! Fleece-backed throws are perfect all year around as they are lightweight yet cozy and soft.

I’m really pleased with how this quilt turned out. The crisp white background was the perfect companion to set off all of the blues, greens, teals, and turquoises. I quilted it with my usual allover meander, but this time I used a very subtle variegated thread, Seamist by YLI. I thought, why not? My Helix has a lot of white space so I thought the variegated thread in blues and teals (I swear there’s a bit of green and lavender, too) would really compliment the quilt. I love how it turned out, but the thread color variations were very very subtle.

Close-up view of a quilt showcasing intricate patchwork patterns in shades of teal, green, and white, with a soft quilted texture.

A spool of YLI machine quilting thread labeled 'Seamist', displaying the barcode and specifications on the side.

A spool of turquoise and teal variegated sewing thread resting on a sewing machine surface with a purple measuring grid.

I found a blue fabric in my stash that had narrow white lines to give it a subtle plaid look for the binding. I machine stitched the binding on to save time and it definitely went better than last week – my corners were much neater on this one. And of course, I added my label dated 2025, even though I started the quilt in 2023. It’s the end that counts, not the beginning.

Yay! Another finish from my towering stack of UFOs. Hmmm. Which one will I finish next?

Quilting Cats

I’m going to change the subject in honor of National Cat Day (October 29th).

How many of you have a kitty partner in crime when quilting (or knitting, crocheting, garment sewing, crafting, etc.)?

Right now as I type this post, my furry buddy, Griffin (age 4), is sprawled across my desk. Only recently has he started doing that again. I love it, but sometimes we end up playing tug o’ war over my mouse pad area. LOL! He really really likes to stretch out pretty much across my whole desk top. Sometimes when I’m trying to use my mouse (which I do A LOT), Griffy will claim my mouse pad and mouse (and sometimes my hand) as his. Silly boy. Of course, as he sprawls over my desk, he knows I just can’t resist scratching him in his favorite spots. Smart boy!

A gray cat lying on a desk cluttered with papers and a pink mouse pad, looking intently at the camera.

Here’s my handsome Griffy. You can see that he has control of the mouse pad in the photo. ARGH! We take turns winning our game of tug o’ war. LOL!

I have another cat, Pip, but at 15, she doesn’t come downstairs to my studio dungeon anymore. She is our upstairs diva. Then there’s Bailly, my 3 year old Shih Tzu. She’s a heartful, but also a handful. And she thinks she’s a cat.

So Happy National Cat Day to you and your furry feline companions. Maybe they’ll help you (or hinder you, depending on their mood) get your project finished for next week’s Week 5 of our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge.

See you right here next week for more VRD fun and Week 5 of our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge.

Until then –

Sew. Laugh. Finish. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

2025 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Rose Cards · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge – Week 3 and a Fun VRD Snack Mat Tutorial

October 23, 2025October 22, 2025 rosecards2 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

How are you this fine October Thursday? My thoughts are definitely turning towards cozy quilts, good books, and hot tea right now as the October winds howl outside, swirling the leaves in mini cyclones around the yard.

I’ve been really enjoying our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge and I hope you’ve been tuning in to the finished projects on our VRD Facebook page. If you signed up for the Challenge, please make sure to write that your before/after photos are for the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge so we can all ooooh and ahhhh over your completed project (this also makes it easier for me to note who finishes a project each week during the Challenge).

I’ve heard that it takes about 30 days to build a new habit so if we finish 1 quilt each week for 6 weeks, hypothetically we are building a new habit. At least, that’s my hope, anyway. LOL!

Before we get much further, though, let’s all congratulate Mary Q as our Week 2 winner. Yay you, Mary! Keep up the great work!

I wonder who will be our Week 3 winner next week??? Maybe Y O U ????

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge Week 3

For Week 3, I chose to complete one of my recent blog tutorial quilts from last month – Busy Bee. I was sew in love with the Hoffman digital fabrics I used for my tutorial that I just had to finish this one as part of the challenge. Busy Bee is fat quarter friendly and finishes at 45″ x 54″, which is a nice kids quilt, baby quilt, or small throw. If you want it bigger, you can easily add more blocks or an outer border (or both).

If you missed the Busy Bee tutorial, you can find it HERE.

Don’t have Busy Bee yet?

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE.

Here’s my BEFORE photo:

A patchwork quilt hanging on a clothesline, featuring a mix of floral and patterned fabric squares in shades of pink, green, and white.

Here’s my AFTER photo:

A cozy quilt featuring a patchwork design with pink, green, and floral patterns, draped over a chair outdoors.

I backed my quilt with a lovely dusty rose textured fleece and free motion quilted the quilt with an allover meander design in a pretty pink thread.

I had a question recently on the blog about using fleece on the back of quilts, so I thought I’d address it here. I do not use batting when I use fleece on the back. I generally only use fleece on the backs of my throw quilts, although my quilty cuz, Kim, is using her fleece scraps on the back of her table runners and smaller projects, too. As for quilting a fleece backed quilt, I try to stay away from designs that cross over because the fleece is really stretchy and the quilt top isn’t (or at least it shouldn’t be) and crossing over lines potentially runs the risk of getting pleats and folds at intersections. I find wiggly line and meandering my designs of choice when quilting fleece backed quilts.

For more tips when quilting fleece, you can check out a blog post HERE from a few years ago.

The binding is Riviera, a Dot batik from our quilting partner, Hoffman , and it’s the absolute perfect finish. I stitched the binding on by machine again to save time. It turned out okay, but a few of my corners had minds of their own and were trying to do the salsa. Sheesh! I even had to rip one out and force it into submission. Corners can be so tricky!

A colorful batik fabric design featuring a blend of deep reds, purples, greens, and pinks with a dotted pattern throughout. — *Riviera Dot batik from Hoffman*

Now to decide which quilt to finish for Week 4……..

FUN VRD Snack Mat Tutorial

Recently, Chris from Needlepointers.com reached out to us to share a really fun idea and tutorial using our VRD Snack Mat patterns and I’m thrilled to share it with you. If you haven’t ever checked out Needlepointers.com, you should! Chris and her daughter Annette have been sharing craft tutorials and projects for the last 20 years on their website.

If you’re like me, you’re on the lookout for fun and fast Holiday gift ideas because the holidays are almost upon us. Snack Mats, of course, are an AWESOME quick and easy gift idea and as a bonus, each pattern makes 2 Snack Mats. You can find all the VRD Snack Mat patterns HERE. Snack Mat patterns are available in both digital and print formats.

Thanks, Chris, for sharing this GREAT IDEA with us!

Have you made anything fun using any of our VRD patterns and put together a tutorial online? We’d love to see it.

Please note that if you are thinking about creating a tutorial of your favorite VRD project (or you’ve done one already):

You may show the front of the pattern, but never the back where the instructions are
Do not give any cutting dimensions or measurements out verbally or in writing as part of your tutorial

Please keep in mind that all VRD patterns are protected by copyright law. Thank you for kindly respecting our VRD designers, their creativity, and their hard work.

Well, I’d better get to work on my Week 4 Challenge Project. I’ll show it off next week. You’d better get yours going, too.

See you then.

Have a great week. Get SEW much done!

Sew. Laugh. Finish. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

2025 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks – Week 2 and an Accessory Challenge

October 16, 2025October 15, 2025 rosecards2 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

How are you this fine Thursday? Getting some quilts finished, I hope?

I’ve been having a great time checking out the finished quilts for Week 1 of our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. It’s almost like, in 1 week, I’ve completed a lot of quilts! Yay! But I didn’t actually have to do all the work. To me, that’s a perfect scenario!

So, if you finished a quilt for Week 1, pat yourself on the back and get ready to repeat this week!

And our Week 1 drawing winner is…………… Jill S.

Want to get in on the action? It’s not too late – just email me at tricia@villarosadesign.com to join for the remaining 5 Weeks of the Challenge.

You can get all the info HERE.

Now let’s jump into Week 2 of our Challenge.

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks: Week 2

I knew I wasn’t going to have a lot of extra time this week, so I decided to tackle one of my table runners UFOs for Week 2, Steppin’ Up.

Cover image for the 'Steppin' Up' quilt pattern by Tricia Lynn Maloney, featuring a colorful quilted table runner with various patterned fabrics, displayed against a porch backdrop.

Don’t have Steppin’ Up yet?

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

My Before Photo (layered and ready to quilt):

A quilted table runner featuring a colorful pattern with autumn-themed fabrics, pinned and layered, ready for quilting against a backdrop of soft fabric.

My After Photo (Done and Done!):

A colorful autumn table runner quilt displayed hanging from a tree, featuring diamond shapes in shades of red, orange, yellow, and green with a floral border.

I made this Autumn version of Steppin’ Up a few years ago when my Friday Quilt group did a whole year of VRD Table Runners. Of course, I made the top as a class sample and never finished it. I don’t remember the name of the collection anymore as the fabrics were left over from another project from way back when. Of course, if you want to make an Autumn version yourself, now’s the time to gather up a gorgeous selection of warm fall fabrics.

I backed it with a neutral backing fabric and a layer of thin cotton batting. I free motion quilted it with an allover loop design (one of my absolute favorite designs which also quilts up really fast – you can see how I do loops HERE). I machine stitched the brown tonal binding on and guess what – it actually turned out pretty well. Last, of course, I added a label.

Have you ever made Steppin’ Up? It’s a really fun one if you haven’t. You can actually arrange the blocks in a lot of different ways to make your runner your way.

So, what are you finishing for Week 2? You have until Friday at midnight to email or post your before/after photos of your Week 2 projects to be entered in our Week 2 drawing.

October VRD Accessory Challenge

Speaking of my Friday group, this past week for our October meeting, we had a group challenge reveal – VRD Accessory patterns. Have you ever made any of our really fun Accessory patterns? You can find all of them HERE. I’m excited to tell you that we are going to be adding NEW Accessory patterns going forward. In fact, I’m working on a few ideas right now.

So, my quilty pals rose to the October Accessory Challenge. Check out their makes, below. Of course, they all rolled their eyes at me when I started snapping pictures because they just knew I was going to show off their projects on the blog. Sorry, not sorry…….

Gaynel made the Olivia Jane pattern. Gaynel discovered that Olivia Jane was the perfect tote to hold a 12”x 12” rotating cutting mat.

A woman holding a handcrafted patchwork bag, displaying various fabric patterns and colors, in a sewing space filled with quilting materials and supplies.

Mary Lee made Catrina Jane, a 2 Pocketed VRD Rose Card Pattern Keeper. You can’t tell in this photo which shows the inside, but her outside fabric is a really cool African batik, which is more like an embossed fabric than the usual batiks we are familiar with.

An open 2-pocket pattern card holder made from colorful autumn-themed fabric, showcasing a floral design, next to the pattern cover titled 'Catrina Jane'.

Robin made the Dinner Party Place Mats. She did alter them a bit by making 4 identical mats instead of swapping the fabrics in each place mat. Find the digital pattern HERE or the print pattern HERE.

A stack of finished dinner party placemats with festive fabric featuring Santa Claus and holiday decorations, placed on a wooden table next to a beverage bottle.

Donna made not only 1, but 4 tote bags using the Tabitha Jane pattern. Here is the one she made herself. The other 3 will be holiday gifts. Good thinking, Donna!

A woman wearing a floral shirt and a gray cardigan is holding a colorful tote bag with a scenic design, smiling at the camera.

Kim made a set of these uber adorable Buzzy Bee Snack Mats. You can find the digital pattern HERE and the print pattern HERE.

A person holding a quilted item featuring bee patterns and floral designs, trimmed in yellow.

There would no way at all I could choose a favorite from their projects because in my book, they are all winners because they finished their projects, so everyone got to pick out a fat quarter as a prize.

I hope these fun Accessory projects will inspire you to make some of your own – HEY! You could even make some as part of our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge – we have 4 more weeks to go yet. You could make some great holiday gifts, or maybe a little something something for yourself.

Okay, time to get back to work on your Challenge projects. And mine too.

Have a great week. Get SEW much done!

Sew. Laugh. Finish. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

2025 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge – Week 1 and NEW October VRD Quilt Patterns

October 9, 2025October 8, 2025 rosecards8 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

There’s a lot to do on today’s blog post, so let’s just jump in with both feet!

First, I want to congratulate our very own Cook family – Molly, Heidi, and mom Tamara – on taking on the former Villa Rosa Designs physical quilt shop. They’ve renamed the shop 3 Aunts Quilt Shop and you can find it HERE. Please extend them your congratulations!

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge

I am absolutely THRILLED that 20 intrepid quilters have joined in with me for the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. Please post your before photo (unfinished quilt top or pile of fabric with the pattern if you’re making new projects) and after photo (completed project, quilted and bound [if you are doing Accessory projects, it may not actually have quilting and/or binding and that’s okay]) on our VRD Facebook page or you can email them to me at tricia@villarosadesigns.com if you prefer.

Your before/after photos must be on the Facebook page or emailed to me by each Friday at midnight EST during the 6 Week Challenge.

If you have any questions, please drop me an email.

All right! Wanna see my finished project for Week 1????

Here is my Before photo:

A vibrant quilt featuring warm autumn colors such as orange and brown, displayed outdoors on a sunny day, with trees and grass in the background.

And here is my After photo:

A colorful quilt draped over a chair, featuring autumn-themed fabrics in shades of orange, yellow, and brown, with a patchwork design.

This VRD quilt is the Alassio pattern. I did this one as a tutorial in August 2023 (when I first wrote this sentence I thought it was from last year, then I checked and found out it was from 2023 – yikes!) and it went into my UFO (unfinished Object) pile. I thought it would a great one to start out the Challenge because it has a lovely warm fall vibe with the yummy batiks from Hoffman. I backed the quilt with cozy orange fleece and free motion quilted it with an allover meander design. I added the binding and machine-stitched it down. I’m not the greatest at finishing binding by machine, but it sure does go a lot faster than doing it by hand. I then added my label to the back. As this isn’t one of my patterns, I added VRD and the name of the pattern to my label along with my name, city and state, and the year the quilt was finished. Even though I started it in 2023, I didn’t complete it until now, so 2025 goes on the label.

Cover image for the Alassio quilt pattern by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a colorful patchwork design with various fabrics in squares and rectangles.

Don’t have Alassio???

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

Find the VRD Alassio tutorial HERE

I’ve already picked my project to complete for Week 2, but you’ll have to wait until next week to see it.

Now it’s your turn – post your photos before midnight. I’ll keep track of everyone who has posted (or sent me) their before/after photos for each week. Then I’ll randomly select that week’s winner from those folks who completed their weekly challenge. Please bear with me as I line up the prizes as this past weekend was International Quilt Market and this week is Festival so many of the companies I work with are a bit preoccupied right now.

If you don’t post a before/after photo for a weekly Challenge or you miss the deadline, your name won’t go into that week’s prize drawing. And that’s okay because life gets busy. I’m not kicking you out of the challenge – just make sure to post your photos for the next week to get your name in the next week’s drawing. Easy peasy.

I want to encourage all of you as well as myself to finish projects, not to stress about them.

I hope I’ve answered any questions you might have had. If not, feel free to email me.

Now let’s take a look at the new October quilt patterns!

NEW October VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns

As many of you already know, I just love the Thursday after the first Friday of every month because I get to show off our new patterns! If you’re new to Villa Rosa, you might not yet know that we offer at least 5 (but sometimes 6 or even 7) NEW patterns each and every month. It’s crazy, right? And nobody else does that, except VRD.

An overview of five new quilt patterns for October 2025, including 'Enchanted Forest,' 'Gabriella,' 'Maple Syrup,' 'Fennimore,' and 'Phyllis.' Each pattern features unique designs and colors, showcased in a collage format.

Get All 5 print patterns HERE

Enchanted Forest is Melissa’s new pattern just in time for Fall Quilting……or Spring…….or Summer. Her “happy trees” are right at home in any season! You can find a kit at Molly and Heidi’s newly named 3 Aunts Quilt Shop, HERE.

Gabriella is Pat’s newest Tim Holtz Palette quilt and features 3 lovely stars amongst the lavender and purple prints. 3 Aunts Quilt Shop still has kits available HERE.

Maple Syrup is Heidi’s latest foody quilt featuring a lovely panel and side borders of a coordinating printed stripe. 3 Aunts has kits in stock HERE.

Fennimore is Rachelle’s new modern pattern for October. It features a very interesting block. You can find Fennimore kits at 3 Aunts HERE.

Phyllis is Catherine’s October pattern and shows you a unique way to make the large star blocks. You can find 3 different kit options at Catherine’s shop, Running Doe Quilts, HERE.

There’s one more quilt for this month and it’s a real fun one!

Boscobel is a small or wall quilt sized project by Rachelle. You can use the cut off triangles from Fennimore for this project or your favorite stack of 5″ squares. This small quilt would also make a great table quilt!

A vibrant quilt titled 'Boscobel' featuring colorful triangles on a white background, designed by Rachelle for Villa Rosa Designs.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE.

Yes, you probably noticed that yours truly did not have a new pattern for October. You’ll just have to wait for November!

I wanted to let you know that I’m still reading book 5 in the Quilt City series. The story is moving along swiftly, but I just haven’t had a lot of time to read this past week.

Well, it’s time for me to get back to my Challenge project for next week. Happy quilting to all of you!

See you right back here next week for more VRD fun and Week 2 of our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge.

Until then –

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Rose Cards · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

VRD Falling Quilt Tutorial

September 25, 2025September 24, 2025 rosecardsLeave a comment

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Happy Fall!

A picturesque autumn scene featuring a cluster of bright orange pumpkins and a white pumpkin surrounded by hay bales and vibrant fall foliage.

Hard to believe it really is Fall now, but I know it’s here whether we’re ready or not. And I’m personally more than ready. We had such a hot and dry summer here in NW PA, so I’m eager for cooler weather.

Fall is definitely my very favorite season with its warm days and cool nights. All the gorgeous colors. The smells of the season. And the sounds. I truly love it all!

Another thing I love about Fall is that I start to feel more energized to get back to my many to-do lists. Summer definitely doesn’t inspire that in me. So now, it’s time to make plans to get things done. What is Fall to you?

I hope you’ve been enjoying our Jump into Fall quilt tutorials. Today’s project is beyond perfect for the season and I know you’re going to be excited to make this one.

VRD Falling Quilt Tutorial

Falling is truly a perfect project for this time of year, especially with all of the yummy fall fabrics at your local quilt shop and favorite online retailers. Falling is a pattern by Catherine, of Running Doe Quilts, who is one of our many talented VRD designers as well as a new VRD partner.

The quilt finishes at a generous 54″ x 72″ and goes together quickly with its oversized blocks and no borders (although you could easily add a border to make it bed-sized if you wanted to).

A colorful quilt featuring large, stylized leaf patterns in various shades, displayed outdoors against a backdrop of trees.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

Catherine even has kits available for the Falling quilt below – get yours HERE before they’re gone. Tell her Tricia sent you!

Quilt designed with colorful leaf patterns in orange, yellow, red, and blue fabrics, displayed outdoors against a rustic background.

Okay, time to get going on today’s tutorial.

Of course, our first thing to do is gather up our fabrics. Today I’m using a lovely collection from Hoffman Fabrics called Sweet Breeze. It’s a great choice today as we end summer and slide into fall. Sadly, this is an older fabric collection and probably isn’t available anymore, but happily Jason Yenter has a gorgeous fall collection called Falling Leaves, you can find it HERE – I think his wonderful fabrics would make great Leaves.

Here are our Sweet Breeze fabrics for today’s tutorial in lovely greens, a few browns, with a wee touch of orange.

Assorted fabric pieces in green, brown, and cream colors, featuring leaf patterns and textures, arranged neatly with a 'Falling' quilt pattern brochure on top.

Let’s go ahead and cut out all the pieces we’ll need for Falling – the background, the Leaf fabrics, and the stems.

A rotary cutter and a transparent quilting ruler placed on a cutting mat with fabric underneath.

Cutting quilting fabric pieces on a cutting mat with a rotary cutter and ruler.

All right! All of our pieces are cut and ready to go.

A variety of fabric squares in green and beige tones on a cutting mat, with a brown strip of fabric positioned in the center.

Next we need to pair up our Leaf fabrics as each of the 12 blocks in the quilt uses 2 fabrics. I really love Catherine’s take on the traditional Maple Leaf quilt block, don’t you? She split it down the center so her leaves are two-toned. And the blocks are very big, which adds to the graphic appeal of this quilt.

The pattern suggests making 2 of each Leaf fabric combination, but you can mix and match your fabrics to your heart’s desire if you want, of course. I’m going to stick to the original plan today.

A variety of fabric squares in shades of green and brown, arranged on a cutting mat, ready for a quilting project.

Now we’re ready to sew. We haves lots of Half Square Triangle (HST) units to make for the quilt. I’m going to make 2 matching Leaf blocks before moving on. I don’t want to get all mixed up!

To make HSTs, the first thing you need to do is layer your squares right sides together (RST) and draw a diagonal line – I like to use FriXion erasable pens for marking my fabrics.

Then we’re going to sew 1/4″ away from both sides of our drawn line.

I went ahead and sewed all of the HSTs for my first 2 blocks at one time. Do likewise if you wish.

Next we need to cut on the diagonal lines which will give us 2 HSTs.

A quilting workspace showing a pair of fabric squares in light and dark green tones next to a pattern card for a quilt design called Falling from Running Doe Quilts.

A fabric square with a diagonal line drawn in red marker, lying on a cutting mat next to a quilting pattern booklet.

All right, let’s head over to the ironing board to press these HSTs open. Don’t forget to cut off the little dog ears on the corners so your piecing will be more accurate.

A green fabric triangle on an ironing board next to an iron, with a pink and white patterned cover.

A selection of cut quilt fabric pieces in various shades of green and beige, arranged on a soft pink background.

Let’s make the stems next. Cut your background square in half diagonally to make 2 triangles. Then we’re going to center and sew a stem rectangle between those 2 background triangles. I pressed my seams towards the stem so they wouldn’t show through my background fabric. We need to make 2 of these – 1 for each of our matching Leaf blocks.

A diagonal cut through a light green fabric square with a floral pattern, placed on a cutting mat with grid lines.

Quilt pieces laid out on a cutting mat, including two triangular fabric pieces and a brown fabric strip.

Before out stem units are finished, though, we need to trim them to the right size. Take your time when you do this step because you don’t want to miscut and make wonky stems.

A quilting ruler placed over fabric on a cutting mat, showcasing measurement lines and a partially cut fabric strip.

A rotary cutter and fabric pieces on a cutting mat, with decorative fabric scraps nearby.

Okay, now we’re ready to layout a block and sew it together. Once I’m happy with how the first block turned out, I’m going to make the second matching block. One Leaf pair done, 5 more pairs to go. Repeat the steps above to make 12 total Leaf blocks.

Close-up of a quilt block featuring a two-toned leaf design in green and beige fabric, displayed on a light gray fabric backdrop.

A quilt block featuring green and light brown fabrics arranged in a maple leaf design, displayed on a gray background.

Woohoo! Here are my 12 Leaf blocks.

A pile of quilt blocks featuring various shades of green fabrics arranged in a leaf design, with a neutral background and some visible stitching.

Now it’s time to arrange the blocks on my design wall. If you want your quilt to have the same movement as the Falling quilt on the cover of the pattern, you will need to flip and flop your blocks like Catherine’s. I only switched 1 or 2 blocks before I liked the arrangement. As you, know sometimes I spend more time arranging the blocks than actually making the quilt. But not today, yay!

You will want to take care while sewing your blocks together because sometimes you are sewing a point to a point. Careful pinning will help keep your points under control and will result in a cleaner and more accurately stitched quilt.

A colorful quilt featuring oversized leaf blocks in various shades of green, brown, and floral patterns arranged on a design wall.

Next we are going to sew the blocks into rows and then sew the rows together to make the quilt top. Oops, this quilt is longer than my flannel wall, so I can’t show you the entire top yet. I told you it was a good sized quilt!

A quilt featuring a pattern of green and brown leaves arranged with a cream-colored background, showcasing various fabric textures and colors.

I just had to take my Falling flimsy outside to snap a photo in natural light so I could show you the entire top. Absolutely LOVE it! Can’t wait to finish it.

A quilt featuring large, stylized leaf patterns in various shades of green, brown, and orange, displayed outdoors on a clothesline with a grassy background.

To complete your quilt, layer it with batting and backing fabric (or fleece like I plan to). Quilt it. Bind it. And don’t forget your label!

Have you made a Falling quilt already? Or if you plan to make one this Fall, please share a photo on our VRD Facebook group – we’d all love to see them!

Well, that’s it for me – I’m heading back to my sewing machine to get some more sewing in.

Take care and I’ll see you right here next week.

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Quilting Partners · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

VRD Busy Bee Quilt Tutorial and Hoffman’s New Fall 2025 Project Catalog

September 18, 2025September 17, 2025 rosecards1 Comment

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Yep, it really is Thursday today. Bet I surprised a lot of you on Monday with our special VRD Announcement about upcoming changes (good ones, I promise you!). If you missed Monday’s VRD announcement, you can find it HERE.

Before I dive into this week’s inspirational quilt tutorial, I wanted to take a minute and share Hoffman’s Fall 2025 Project Catalog with you. I’m sure you’ve noticed I use a lot of Hoffman collections for our blog tutorials by now. We work closely with our friends over at Hoffman to inspire you by pairing new Hoffman fabrics and our easy breezy VRD Rose Card patterns.

Please enjoy the catalog and don’t forget to visit your local quilt shops to request these new upcoming Hoffman fabric collections and, of course, Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns.

Lots of wonderful inspiration in this catalog, isn’t there? Which one(s) did you fall in love with and are adding to your “gotta make” list???

Now let’s make a quilt!

VRD Busy Bee Quilt Tutorial

Are you ready for a super fun tutorial today? Busy Bee is an oldie, but a really great goodie! I know you’re gonna love it!

Colorful quilt design featuring various fabric patterns in shades of red, green, and navy, with a title 'BUSY BEE' and branding 'Villa Rosa Designs'.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

First things first, let me show you the fabric I’m using today for Busy Bee. You’ll notice right away that these fabrics don’t exactly have an autumn vibe going on, but I couldn’t resist these gorgeous fabrics when I was looking through my stack of quilt kits to choose my next victim….er, tutorial project. LOL!

Seriously, though, aren’t these fabrics divine??? This older Hoffman collection is called Blush Garden. It’s possible you still might find some bolts at your local quilt shop or at your favorite online shop, but somehow I doubt it as it’s just so yummy. Sorry……

Busy Bee is a fat quarter (FQ) pattern which means you only need FQs for the quilt top. No background, no borders. Busy Bee is stunningly simple and goes together like greased lightning!

A collection of colorful fabrics arranged on a sewing table, featuring various floral and abstract patterns, along with a pattern booklet titled 'Busy Bee.' — *Psst!* You might notice that my Busy Bee pattern looks different from the cover front above. Yep, my pattern is an older cover front. Sometimes we freshen up covers as fabric styles and trends change over the years.

Before we can get to the sewing, we have to cut our fabrics. You need to divide your FQs into 2 equal stacks.

With the first stack, we’re going to cut our FQs into strips and then into fat rectangles and squares.

A cutting mat with a rotary cutter and floral fabric pieces for quilting. A ruler is positioned on top of the fabric, indicating measurement marks.

A cutting mat with floral fabric squares and a clear quilting ruler placed on top for cutting fabric.

Moving on to the second FQ stack, we’re gong to cut skinny rectangles and squares.

A cutting mat with a yellow rotary cutter and a green ruler next to a stack of fabric pieces, including a white square.

A cutting mat with a floral fabric strip and a rotary cutter, alongside a ruler marked with measurements.

Here are all our pieces ready to sew. And that’s it for cutting for the whole quilt top. I just love patterns like this, don’t you?

A collection of quilting fabric pieces in shades of pink and floral patterns, accompanied by a Busy Bee quilt pattern booklet on a green cutting mat.

Time to sew!

We’re going to sew 2 assorted fat rectangles together to make Block 1. I divided them equally into 2 piles and set them to the left of my machine so I could just grab the 2 top rectangles and feed them through the machine to chain piece them. If I didn’t like the combination or had 2 of the same on top, I just grabbed another one off one of the piles. Sew simple.

Do you chain piece your pieces together? Chain piecing is when you keep feeding/sewing pieces together through your sewing machine without cutting the thread in between the units. It saves both time and thread.

Fabric strips arranged on a sewing machine ready for quilting.

A close-up of a sewing machine with a pink fabric strip being sewn. Surrounding the machine are various fabric pieces in floral patterns, laid out on a cutting mat.

Now for Block 2 – we’re going to sew 3 assorted skinny rectangles together to make a Triple Rail Fence block. Again, I divided my strips equally into 3 piles and put them to the left of my machine. First I sewed 2 rectangles together from 2 of the 3 piles, leaving the last pile for last. Then I added a 3rd rectangle to all the pairs, making sure each Rail Fence block had 3 different fabrics.

Close-up of a sewing machine with a piece of fabric featuring floral patterns being sewn alongside a solid fabric.

Time to head over to the ironing board to press all of my blocks flat.

A variety of colorful quilt fabric pieces laid out on a cutting mat with an iron in the background.

A stack of fabric pieces in various floral patterns and colors, arranged on a gray felt surface.

All righty, all the blocks are sewn and pressed, so now we’re going to put them up on the design wall so we can play switcheroo until we’re happy with the block arrangement.

The layout is an easy one for because we’re just going to alternate the blocks.

Take a look at some of my swaps. See how the dark reds are accumulating at the lower right corner of the photo at the left. In the middle photo, I swapped some blocks around and it’s starting to look a bit better, but we’re not quite there yet. And then the photo at the right looks the best of all. Often, arranging the blocks takes longer than sewing the whole top together, especially if you’re making a Villa Rosa pattern!

A quilt in progress featuring a patchwork design with floral and textured fabric pieces in shades of pink, green, and cream, displayed on a light background.

A patchwork quilt design showcasing a variety of floral and patterned fabric pieces arranged in a grid layout, featuring pink, green, and beige tones.

Now that I’m happy with how the blocks look, we’re going to add a border of squares all the way around the blocks. Huh! Bet you were wondering what we were going to do with all those squares (besides add them to our 5″ square stash).

A colorful quilt top made of various fabric pieces in shades of pink, green, and white, arranged in a patchwork design.

Guess what?!? Now it’s time to swap the squares around until the quilt looks just right (are you feeling a little bit like Goldilocks, ??? LOL!).

Take a look at some of my swap outs below. You might wonder why I went ahead and laid out my border of squares before I sewed the blocks together for the quilt center. I was afraid to sew the blocks together in case I would need to tweak them again once I laid out the border squares.

A patchwork quilt top featuring various fabric squares and rectangles in shades of pink, green, and floral patterns, arranged in a visually appealing layout.

A quilt top featuring a patchwork design with floral and abstract fabric pieces in shades of green, pink, and maroon, arranged in an alternating pattern.

A quilt top layout featuring various floral and patterned fabric pieces in shades of green, pink, and mauve, arranged in a patchwork design.

Okay, I’m happy with the blocks and outer squares layout, so I’m going to sew my blocks into rows and then sew the rows together.

A close-up view of two pieces of fabric placed under the needle of a sewing machine, with a floral-patterned fabric on the left and a solid light fabric on the right.

A sewing machine at work, stitching together multiple fabric pieces with a focus on a green patterned fabric surrounded by pink and light-colored fabrics.

The center of the quilt is now sewn together. OH NO! Somehow I flipped a block at the bottom right corner of the quilt center! Sheesh! How’d I manage to do that?!?

A partially completed quilt top featuring a variety of floral and patterned fabrics in shades of pink, green, and white, arranged in a block design on a light background.

Oh well, don’t panic! We can fix this. We have 2 options – either leave it alone and continue or else take a break to rip out the corner of the quilt and sew the blocks back together. Can you guess which option I chose?

Yup, time to grab my pal (and my enemy – I guess that makes him my frenemy, doesn’t it?), Jack the seam ripper. Do you have a favorite seam ripper? Mine is by Clover. In my humble opinion, it’s simply the best seam ripper ever. Don’t have this one? You can find it HERE. Let me know what you think.

A Clover seam ripper, displayed in packaging, designed for easily cutting threads.

Anyway, time to rip!

Close-up of two fabric pieces with floral and abstract designs laid next to a sewing machine, highlighting the quilting process.

A sewing machine with floral fabric pieces positioned next to a seam ripper tool on a workspace.

Ugh! Look at all the threads bits! Ripping out stitches is definitely NOT my favorite thing to do, but it’s necessary sometimes. And besides, Jack really enjoys himself when we do.

Close-up of several fabric pieces in shades of pink, with threads visible on one piece.

Now I can resew the block into the quilt. This time, I’m making sure it’s turned the right way.

Close-up view of colorful quilt patches with floral patterns being sewn together with a sewing machine.

Close-up of a quilt made with various floral and patterned fabric pieces, showcasing shades of pink, beige, and green, with visible stitching elements.

Okay, disaster averted, thank goodness. I’m still not a fan of the mauve rectangle touching the dark red one, but unless I want to do a ton more ripping and resewing, I’ve decided I can live with it. What do you think? Should I have ripped out the other block, too?

Quilt top featuring an assortment of floral and patterned fabrics in shades of pink, green, and cream, laid out in a patchwork design.

Moving on……..time to sew my squares into rows and then I’ll sew them to the quilt center. Fingers crossed I don’t get any of them mixed up. I’m going to sew the top and bottom squares together first and then I’ll sew them to the top and bottom of the quilt center.

Showcasing a colorful quilt top made from various fabrics in pink, green, and floral patterns, arranged in a harmonious patchwork layout.

A patchwork quilt top featuring a mix of floral and geometric patterned fabric pieces in shades of pink, green, and cream, arranged in a grid layout.

Next I’m going to sew the side border squares together and then I’ll sew them to the sides of the quilt center.

And here is the completed Busy Bee quilt top (or flimsy). Isn’t it really beautiful? LOVE LOVE LOVE these fabrics!

A patchwork quilt top featuring an assortment of floral and patterned fabric squares in shades of pink, green, and white, arranged in a mosaic style.

A completed quilt top featuring a patchwork design made of floral and textured fabric squares in shades of pink, green, and white, displayed against a light background.

Let’s take it outside in natural light to see the fabrics sparkle (instead of my dark sewing dungeon). Love it sew much! Can’t wait to finish this one.

A vibrant quilt displayed outdoors on a clothesline, featuring a patchwork design in shades of pink, green, and white.

Of course, after you get the flimsy finished, it’s time to layer it with batting and backing and quilt it. Then bind it and add a label. Hopefully soon.

Well, that’s it for me this week. Try to get a bit of sewing in this week.

See you next week!

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Quilting Partners · villa rosa designs

Special Announcement About Villa Rosa Designs

September 15, 2025September 14, 2025 rosecards6 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Yep – you’re right, it’s not Thursday yet, but I had some important information to share with you about Villa Rosa Designs and it couldn’t wait until our usual Thursday post.

Please read on –

Moving Along

Pat Fryer is making changes – all toward scaling back her personal work load and concentrating on the Villa Rosa patterns.

California fabric shop and online fabric store –

All of the fresh new fabrics will be handed off to Heidi and Molly Cook. The location is the same and all of the good things will be there. They have a new name – 3 Aunts Quilt Shop. The website 3AuntsQuiltShop.com will be live October 1. There will be links on the VillaRosaDesigns.com website and in our newsletters. All of Villa Rosa Designs patterns will be available at the shop and on 3AuntsQuiltShop.com. 3 Aunts Quilt Shop will carry on as the California home of Villa Rosa Designs. Great things are in store!

VillaRosaDesigns.com –

The website will continue to have all of the Villa Rosa Designs patterns, and will still have close-out fabric and kits. There is much remaining inventory after years of buying and overbuying fabric.

Pat and company [me included!] are going to be adding much more in the way of videos, tutorials, challenges, social sharing. Let’s keep Villa Rosa Designs quilting and connected!

The new Texas home of Villa Rosa Designs –

A new East Texas location is opening in October. The location is a partnership between Pat of Villa Rosa Designs and Catherine of Running Doe Quilts. Running Doe Quilt Shop is expanding there – more machines, more fabric and notions, more classes. Running Doe’s new shop will be renamed Rose City Sewing. The location will have all of the Villa Rosa patterns available, along with close-out Villa Rosa fabrics. Great things are in store!

Wholesale Operations –

Austin, TX is still home to Villa Rosa Designs administration and print shop. Leann Fryer handles operations, web design, programming, wholesale ordering, and special orders. Wholesale orders for quilt shops can be placed on VillaRosaWholesale.com.

Pattern Shipping –

Central Missouri houses the patterns. Eric Aitken fills pattern orders – wholesale and retail. Nancy Aitken heads our art department from there.

With all these moves, Villa Rosa Designs continues to be scattered over 3 states. Centralizing contacts – phone and emails – will be a challenge we hope to simplify.

Contacts –

3 Aunts Quilt Shop – Molly Cook, Heidi Cook
3auntsquiltshop@gmail.com
530-509-5133 530-798-8506 530-755-6467
3AuntsQuiltShop.com
12438 Loma Rica Dr., Ste. A
Grass Valley CA 95945

Villa Rosa Designs – Pat Fryer
pat@villarosadesigns.com
888-867-8458 209-678-8731
VillaRosaDesigns.com

Villa Rosa Wholesale – Leann Fryer
leann@villarosadesigns.com
512-527-4964

Runing Doe Quilts
Rose City Sewing
catherine@runningdoequilts.com
903-933-2420
RunningDoeQuilts.com
Coming soon – Rose City Sewing
3401 G E Drive
Tyler TX 75701

Villa Rosa Pattern Shipping
Eric Aitken
orders@villarosadesigns.com

Villa Rosa Art Department
Nancy Aitken
nancy@villarosadesigns.com

So stay tuned – new and exciting things are coming!

See you Thursday for another great VRD quilt tutorial.

Until then –

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

VRD Midnight Pathway Quilt Tutorial, High British Tea, and a Quilt Exhibit/Museum Tour

September 4, 2025September 4, 2025 rosecardsLeave a comment

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

I hope you enjoyed last week’s tutorial, Morning Tea, with Molly. It was wonderful that she could stop by the blog and visit with you. Things have been super busy over there at the VRD shop in Grass Valley, CA, so she just hasn’t had a lot of extra time to hang out with us on the blog. What a great quilt she made, too, huh? Blue and white Australian fabrics – wow! If you missed last week’s Morning Tea tutorial, you can find it HERE.

High British Tea and a Quilt Exhibit/Tour

Last Friday, I was delighted to attend a High British Tea and Quilt Program/Tour at the Gibson House Manor Museum in Jamestown, PA. I was invited by my sister’s aunt-in-law (is this even a word???), Anita, to attend as her guest. Anita is not only a quilter, she also volunteers at the Museum.

The Gibson House Manor has had a very interesting history, indeed. It was built by a local doctor, William Gibson in the 1850’s. It is also known as the Mark Twain house because Mark Twain actually stayed there after the Civil War. He liked the house so much, he even included it in one of his stories! But even more interesting, it was a vital stop on the underground railroad with hidden secret rooms and so much more! You can visit the website HERE for more information.

Here’s the museum – isn’t it gorgeous???

The exterior of the Gibson House Manor Museum, featuring a red brick facade, large windows, and surrounding greenery.

Lucky me – not only was the new quilt exhibit debuting, the curator was giving a tour of the quilts, AND it was the monthly High British Tea day. What fun!

Here’s a few photos of the exhibit, showing some of the quilts on display.

A quilt displayed on a wall featuring a pattern with red and blue diamond shapes on a white background, framed with a pink border.

A quilt with red stars and yellow leaf patterns draped over a bed, with a brown patterned border and a dark blue wall in the background.

You can see this lovely exhibit (and the museum!) until October. It’s called Quilted Layers: Piecing Together History and it is curated by Jill Mezaros. You can make reservations on the website to see the exhibit. While you’re there, you might want to take the Underground Railroad tour and maybe have High British Tea, which is usually the last Friday of the month. Yum!

Now let’s get started on this week’s quilt tutorial to help you restart your quilting this fall.

VRD Midnight Pathway Quilt Tutorial

Midnight Pathway is another great VRD pattern by our own Molly Cook. It finishes at a big 52″ x 72″ and makes a good-sized throw quilt. Want it bigger? Simply add a border.

To me, this pattern has a more masculine feel to it. It’s very straightforward without any extras. I think you’re going to like it!

A quilt titled 'Midnight Pathway' with dark blue and gray fabrics arranged in alternating horizontal strips, featuring intricate quilting patterns.

Don’t have this pattern yet? Then get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE.

Today we’re using a rich earthy fabric collection. This collection is called Into the Woods and is a Hoffman Fabrics digital fabric collection with companion batiks.

A collection of quilting fabrics laid out on a green cutting mat alongside a pattern card for the 'Midnight Pathway' quilt. The fabrics include various colors and patterns, while the card is clearly labeled with the quilt design details.

Sadly, this collection is an older one, so you might not be able to find it anymore. This time of year, though, you’re bound to find something with a fabulous autumn woodsy feel that would work equally well like the Jason Yenter collection Falling Leaves or maybe Deb Tucker’s Forest Flora collection.

The first thing we’re going to do is to cut a lot of strips from our prints.

Cutting fabric for the Midnight Pathway quilt tutorial, featuring a rotary cutter, ruler, and fabric swatches on a green cutting mat.

A cutting mat with various strips of fabric featuring a tree bark pattern, a rotary cutter, and a clear ruler used for quilting.

Then we’re going to cut more strips from our contrast fabric.

A rotary cutter and quilting ruler positioned on a green cutting mat, with strips of white fabric and a folded piece of fabric nearby.

A quilting workspace featuring a rotary cutter, a clear acrylic ruler, and cut fabric pieces laid out on a green cutting mat.

Once we’ve got all of our strips cut, we’re going to cut our strips into different sized pieces. It’s important to keep all the pieces from one strip together. I folded the smaller pieces inside the longer pieces so I wouldn’t lose them.

A collection of fabric strips in various patterns and colors, including light cream, earthy browns, and floral designs, arranged on a cutting mat alongside a rotary cutter and a ruler.

We’re heading to the sewing machine next so we can add contrast rectangles between the small and larger pieces of the strips. You could mix and match your pieces for a really scrappy look (or even shop out of your stash and scrap bins), but I’m sticking with the pattern and going to keep each original strip together.

As there are three different pieced strips, I’m going to sew the strips together in 3 sections, then I’ll sew all the sections together.

Close-up of a Janome sewing machine with fabric pieces and threading on the sewing table.

Close-up of fabric pieces being sewn together on a sewing machine, showing a mix of patterned and solid fabrics.

I’m going to pin all the same pieced strips together to stay organized as I work on each group.

Two sets of fabric strips laid out against a patterned background, with contrasting elements visible.

Now that all my strips are pieced, the fun can begin! Time to arrange the strips on my flannel board. Because I have my strips already divided into 3 groups, I’m also going to work on sewing the pieced strips together into 3 sections.

You can really have some creative license with this design because you can arrange the strips any way you want! There are so many ways you can put these strips together, so make sure you play a little bit before you commit.

A patchwork quilt arranged with various fabric strips in earthy tones and patterns, displayed on a flannel board.

Okay, I’m happy with my first section, so I’m going to sew the pieced strips together – first into pairs, then into quads, then finally sewing the quads together into one section. This helps me to keep from mixing up the strips as I sew.

A partially completed quilt top featuring a variety of brown and blue fabric strips arranged in a modern design, displayed against a light-colored background.

A patchwork quilt top featuring a variety of earthy fabric strips arranged in horizontal rows, showcasing a mix of patterns and colors, including browns, creams, and soft greens.

I added this piece of paper to the top left corner so I wouldn’t flip things all around as I went.

A close-up image of quilt fabric pieces showing a label that reads 'Top Section 1' with an arrow pointing up, indicating the arrangement. The fabric features earthy tones and patterns resembling autumn foliage.

Great! Time to move onto the second group of pieced strips. I’m going to continue using the same technique as I did with the first section (twosies and foursies) after I’ve decided how I want this section arranged.

A partially completed quilt top displayed on a design wall, featuring alternating strips of earthy fabrics in various shades of brown, cream, and teal, alongside printed fabric depicting a nature scene with deer.

A quilt top in progress featuring an alternating pattern of colorful fabric strips, with a mix of browns, greens, and patterned strips displaying foliage and deer.

Now onto the last section. Because the quilt top is getting so long, I’m pretty much standing on my head to arrange the last pieced strips. LOL! I can barely show you the entire quilt top now – my pressing counter is in the way and I’m running out of flannel board.

A partially completed quilt featuring a design of horizontal fabric strips in earthy tones including browns, greens, and creams, with a central vertical white section.

A quilt design featuring a variety of fabrics in earthy tones, arranged in horizontal strips, with white sections interspersed.

So I’m going to take the top outside for a photo so you can see the whole thing. And here it is! I really like how warm and cozy it looks and how any guy or gal would love it!

A patchwork quilt with alternating strips of earthy brown fabrics and light-colored fabric, laid out on green grass.

Now all I have to do is layer it with batting and backing (or fleece as I plan to do), quilt it, bind it, and put on a label. Ho hum…..I’ll be adding it to my mountain of projects that need finished, I’m afraid. Seriously, I have no idea how many flimsies (quilt tops) and layered quilts I have on my pile – so, what’s one more???

Fingers crossed I’ll get some time this winter to work on them. Of course, the more tutorials I do, the more flimsies I add to my teetering pile. What a delightful conundrum.

Bet you don’t have any WIPs or UFOs (works-in-progress or unfinished objects) in your sewing space, do you???

See you next week for another great tutorial and NEW September patterns!

Until then –

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

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